A pipeline to citizenship

Ecuadorean immigrant Lupe Velasquez, who became a U.S. citizen in 1990, described the naturalization process as “incredibly thorough.” Immigration officials scrutinized every part of her life. She was once delayed at the airport when she couldn’t recall her husband’s birthday. 

Since 2002, Velasquez, now 67, has committed to helping others like her through Freeport Memorial Library’s Naturalization and Citizenship 101 course, which breaks down the naturalization process and helps people understand the many steps toward citizenship.

The nonprofit Catholic Charities originally offered the class, but stopped in 2004, with the library staff picking it up from there. In 2018, Freeport outreach librarian Christopher Bisonette, 36, joined Velasquez, a librarian’s aide, and Maryellen Cantanno, the programming librarian, to revamp the course with updated information. 

Bisonette said the current application is now 20 pages long, and comes with a $1,200 fee, which was $725 last year. Bisonette said he felt compelled to help people complete the process as efficiently as possible. As a result, the Freeport Memorial Library now offers not only the Citizenship 101 course, but also an eight-part civics test prep course and a new citizenship application legal clinic, which will be held at the library on March 26. 

“By offering these three programs, the hope is that we can create a local pipeline to citizenship that people can access,” Bisonette said. 

When Velasquez first approached Bisonette to help with the Citizenship 101 course, Bisonette saw it as a civic duty to help those who wanted to become U.S. citizens. With the approval of Library Director Ken Belafiore, Velasquez and Bisonette attended a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ training workshop, at which they learned how to run a citizenship preparation program. The Citizenship 101 class became a two-part course that reviews the entire naturalization process, and Bisonette created a page on the library’s website that features links to USCIS, videos on the interview process and other resources.   

Bisonette and Velasquez then added the eight-part civics test prep course, which readies applicants for the test portion of the naturalization process. Students learn U.S. history, politics and basic government structure. During the civics exam, applicants must correctly answer six of 10 questions, which are chosen from a list of 100 questions. Velasquez encourages students to take at least six of the eight civic test prep classes to maximize their chances of passing the naturalization exam. 

“No matter how many times they apply, it won’t matter unless they pass the test,” Velasquez said. 

Since 2018, 77 students have taken the new classes, and as of 2019, 36 had become naturalized citizens. Lee Ann Moltzen, 47, the Freeport Memorial Library’s head of community services, said the courses have grown popular in Freeport and surrounding communities.

 Now the library also brings in legal experts from the nonprofit Central American Refugee Center of Hempstead to help with the legal questions that are specific to immigrants’ cases. 

Moltzen said she hoped the legal clinic would attract a large number of people who need help. She said that because the naturalization process is long and costly, many people who qualify for citizenship might avoid it.   

“It can scare people and makes them hesitate to go through with it,” Moltzen said. 

Fear of the current national politics may be scaring off a number of immigrants who need help from seeking services, as well, Velasquez said. One time, she said, a number of students in one of the ESL classes nearly ran from the library when they mistook the director at the time for a federal agent.  

Belafiore said the library has worked hard to calm people’s fears by reaching out to the local community and advertising all classes that are designed to serve the immigrant community, including English as a Second Language classes and Spanish literature seminars and book clubs. 

“We’re fortunate to be able to provide these services to the community,” Belafiore said, “and people come in not knowing that the programs are free. You don’t even have to be a Freeport resident.”   

The legal clinic will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 26. The Citizenship 101 course and test prep course are held several times a year. For the Freeport Memorial Library’s naturalization guide, visit libguides.freeportlibrary.info.